I Heard You Liked Me First - Chapter 13

After Gu Yue got drunk, she turned quiet and well-behaved. At first, she shyly expressed her admiration and fondness toward the group, but soon after, she stopped talking altogether, sitting on the sofa with a dazed expression while watching the chaos of the dance floor.

Just then, a few people passed by and spotted Su Wan. Their faces lit up.
“Su Wan! You’re here, why aren’t you dancing?”
“Yeah, why didn’t you say you were coming out tonight? Drinks are on me!”

Su Wan glanced nervously at Gu Yue, who still looked blank and docile. Only then did she turn back and say, “Not tonight. I’m keeping a friend company.”

The man offering to buy her drinks sighed in disappointment. “I was hoping we’d get to see you dance again.”

Gu Nan, ever the instigator, chimed in teasingly, “Since they’re begging you to dance, why not go? It’s not like we haven’t seen it before.”

Su Wan shot Gu Nan a sharp side-eye. Was she afraid of Gu Nan seeing her dance? No—she was afraid Gu Yue would.

Logically, she shouldn’t have cared that much. But for some reason, she wanted to keep up the image of being gentle and refined in front of Gu Yue.

Her fingers even itched to take the cigarette someone was offering her, to light it and take a deep, smoky drag.

But the moment her eyes landed on Gu Yue sitting there so obediently, her lashes lowered, hands folded in her lap Su Wan swallowed down the impulse.

This kind of night was dull anyway. She exhaled softly. “Let’s call it a night. I should get home early.”

Gu Nan gestured toward Gu Yue. “And what about her? If she goes home like this, her mom’s going to skin her alive.”

Gu Nan continued, “And she can’t come to my place either. My place is practically next door to her mom’s. We even share the same house staff. If her mom finds out she’s been hanging around with me drinking, no less, she’ll still get it.”

Su Wan rubbed her temples and gave a humorless laugh. “Don’t tell me you expect me to take her.”

Gu Nan shrugged. “You’re the only one her mom won’t dare to scold. Even if Gu Yue got into trouble under your roof, her mom wouldn’t say a word. Plus, you’d be helping us cover for her.”

Su Wan’s head was beginning to ache. “So now I have to save her from the depths of despair and babysit her?”

Gu Nan sighed dramatically. “Come on, look at her she’s pitiful. The bruises haven’t even healed yet.”

She lowered her voice. “Her mom swore she wouldn’t lay hands on her again, but who knows? Maybe next time it won’t leave marks. Or maybe she’ll use words instead of breaking her down slowly.”

“Have a little pity, will you? She just turned eighteen.”

Su Wan turned her gaze toward Gu Yue, and for a brief moment, she saw her younger self.

Girls born into families like theirs marriage was a business deal from birth. Their lives were never truly their own. They existed to bring their families more power and advantage.

And Gu Nan wasn’t wrong. Taking Gu Yue home was safer. If her mother found out Gu Yue was with Gu Nan, she would never let it go.

Su Wan sighed again, rubbing her forehead. She still had an apartment downtown, away from the Xiao family’s mansion. Maybe it was pity or maybe the resemblance to her past self, but she nodded in agreement.

Still, the instant Gu Yue got into her car, Su Wan regretted it.

Gu Yue immediately clung to her arm, resting her head on Su Wan’s shoulder, voice soft and hazy. “Where are you taking me? Home? I don’t want to go home. Take me with you, okay? I’ll go wherever you go.”

The hired driver kept sneaking glances through the rearview mirror.

Su Wan turned to the girl, pinching her cheeks lightly until her lips puckered. “Quiet. Stop talking. I’m not taking you home.”

The moment Gu Yue heard that, she settled down obediently.

Su Wan’s heart softened again. How can anyone be this obedient?

If this girl really ended up marrying her useless son, it would be such a waste.

Outside the window, neon lights streaked by.

A girl like Gu Yue deserved a dazzling life. But if she went through with that arranged marriage, her world would never know color again only endless darkness.

That thought alone was enough to make Su Wan’s heart waver.

The driver was efficient, and they arrived not long after. But before he left, he couldn’t resist glancing back several times.

After all, Su Wan had to half-carry Gu Yue out of the car. The girl clung to her waist like a stubborn koala, refusing to let go no matter how hard Su Wan tried to pry her off.

In the end, Su Wan gave up and simply led her upstairs.

This downtown apartment was Su Wan’s private place her personal haven when she didn’t want to return to the Xiao family home. No one else had ever set foot inside. Gu Yue was the first.

She hadn’t prepared for guests. There was only one bedroom.

Looking down at the girl, Su Wan frowned slightly. It had been years since she’d shared a bed with anyone. Even she and her husband had long lived separate lives.

Tonight, it seemed, would be sleepless.

She placed Gu Yue on the bed and took off her coat.

The thick winter dress she wore looked heavy and uncomfortable. Even asleep, her brow was furrowed. Su Wan sighed deeply.

There was no helping it she couldn’t let her sleep like that.

So she fetched her own pajamas and began changing Gu Yue into them.

She hadn’t expected the girl, who looked so slender, to have such surprising curves. Not exaggerated, but striking against her delicate frame.

Her skin was unbelievably soft, smooth enough that Su Wan’s palms almost stuck to it.

But the faint marks across her body welts from a whip made Su Wan’s bl00d run hot with anger.

After dressing her and gently wiping her face with a damp towel, Su Wan finally went to wash up and change.

When she lay down, she thought, She’s such a quiet girl. Surely she sleeps quietly too.

But no sooner had she closed her eyes than a warm, soft body pressed against her.

Gu Yue burrowed into her arms, her forehead brushing Su Wan’s shoulder, her leg draping over Su Wan’s and shifting slightly until she found a comfortable spot.

Her skin was impossibly smooth; even where their legs touched, it seemed to slide silkily down.

She was so soft like a piece of mochi that molded to every touch.

Su Wan wasn’t used to anyone sleeping so close. The presence beside her was too strong, too warm. She lay awake for most of the night before finally dozing off.

The next morning, Gu Yue stirred slightly, and Su Wan’s eyes opened immediately.

She felt wrecked. It was as if she hadn’t slept at all. She might’ve been better off dancing all night at the bar.

When Gu Yue fully woke, she stiffened the moment she realized someone was beside her.

She couldn’t believe it she was in someone else’s bed. Su Wan’s bed.

Su Wan the wife of her blind date’s father. She’d spent the night with her potential stepmother.

It was the kind of scandal that could end a life.

Gu Yue froze, then quickly shut her eyes again, pretending to still be asleep. Even her breathing grew shallow as she buried her head against Su Wan’s arm like an ostrich hiding in the sand.

Until Su Wan sighed softly. “If you’re awake, get up. Don’t pretend.”

Gu Yue almost screamed.

Even when her mother’s whip came down, it had never been this terrifying.

Her toes curled, her voice trembled. With her eyes still shut, she whispered, “Last night… I didn’t do anything, right?”

She hadn’t done anything inappropriate to this elder, had she?

Su Wan exhaled again. “It seems alcohol really does make people foolish. If you hadn’t drunk so much, we could’ve avoided such an absurd night.”

She used the word absurd because, truly, she hadn’t rested at all. She never imagined a drunk girl could be this clingy.

But that word made Gu Yue’s bl00d run cold.

Absurd? What did that mean? What had she done last night to make Su Wan say that?

Her limited life experience and scraps of internet knowledge led her to one horrifying conclusion.

Wasn’t this exactly how those stories went?

The heroine gets drunk, wakes up in someone else’s bed, and then…

Gu Yue’s face turned crimson as she buried herself deeper into Su Wan’s arm.

Of course, there was no way she and Su Wan had actually… “run off with a child.”

But still, had they really done that last night?

Her mind was a complete blank. She couldn’t remember a single thing.

And yet, a huge question gnawed at her from within:

“We’re both women. Can two women even… do that kind of thing when they’re drunk?”

Her voice was barely above a mosquito’s hum.

Su Wan had to strain to make sense of what she said and when she did, she couldn’t help laughing.

Thankfully, she managed to hold it in, so Gu Yue didn’t notice.

Maybe it was time to give this little girl a small science lesson.

“Of course two women can have a relationship,” Su Wan said mildly.

Gu Yue froze.

She couldn’t believe she might’ve done something like that while drunk. So alcohol really was evil she was never touching it again.

She felt like a lone boat caught in a storm, tossed helplessly on a vast, raging sea.

Her voice trembled as she stammered out what she thought was the honorable thing to say:
“I’ll take responsibility for you!”

Su Wan nearly burst out laughing.

So this little girl really thought she had slept with her?

Where did she get such confidence? She didn’t even know that women could sleep together how could she possibly think her drunk self would know how to do it?

Su Wan turned toward her, reached out, and pinched her chin lightly, lifting her face so their eyes met.

Keeping her tone soft and teasing, she said, “Oh? And how exactly do you plan to take responsibility for me?”

She wanted to see what kind of outrageous words this girl would come up with next.

But to her surprise, Gu Yue’s eyes instantly filled with tears.

She truly hadn’t expected herself to commit such a terrible mistake.

Her tears began to fall uncontrollably, panic spilling from her voice.

“I—it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have drunk. I don’t even know why I’d do something like that, but it’s all my fault!”

“I’ll take responsibility, I promise. H-how should I do it? I won’t go through with the engagement anymore. I’ll try to go back to school, and once I graduate and get a job, I’ll make money to support you!”

“I even have some savings I’ll give it all to you!”

But even as she said that, she knew it wasn’t enough.

What kind of life did Su Wan live now? Even if Gu Yue worked for years, she could never afford to “support” her.

And worse Su Wan was Mrs. Xiao. Which meant Gu Yue had actually become the other woman, stealing someone’s wife.

The thought made her cry even harder, overcome with shame and helplessness.

How could she always do such stupid things?

Seeing that her teasing had gone too far, Su Wan finally softened.

She gently wiped the tears from Gu Yue’s cheeks, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “I was joking. Nothing happened between us.”

Gu Yue blinked up at her, her eyes still hazy with confusion.

Su Wan patted her lightly on the face. “Really nothing happened.”

Then she stood up and said, “Come on, get up. I called your mother last night and told her you were sleeping here. If you don’t go home soon, she might start getting angry again.”

Gu Yue nodded, still dazed.

When Su Wan disappeared into the bathroom, she finally sat up.

Looking down at the pajamas she was wearing, she didn’t know what to believe anymore.

Why had she ever thought it was a good idea to try alcohol?

She’d read so many stories online about people making disastrous mistakes after drinking why hadn’t she learned from them?

At this point, she didn’t even care what her mother might say when she went home.

All she wanted was to know what really happened last night.

If something truly had happened between her and Su Wan… then her engagement to the Xiao family would be over for good.

The thought made her head ache so much she wanted to pull her own hair out.